Container-drawer stop and aligning means



NOV. 5, 1946.

P0 ZALKIND CONTAINER DRAWER STOP AND ALIGNING MEANS Original Filed June 2, 195a FIGURE-2 FlGU RE-3 INVENTOR ZAM- 2 z & TTORNEY Patented Nov. 5, 1946 CONTAINER-DRAWER STOP AND ALIGNING IVIEAN S Philip Zalkind, New York, N. Y.

Original application June 2, 1938, Serial No.

211,385, new Patent No. 2,337,079, dated December 21, 1943. Divided and this application January 1, 1944, Serial No. 516,681

3 Claims. 1

This invention is a division of my application Serial No. 211,385, filed June 2, 1938, which has become Patent No. 2,337,079, dated Dec. 21, 1943, and relates to collapsible containers wherein a collapsible drawer is intended to be slidable into and out of the open front of a casing, and in connection with which novel drawer stop and aligning means are provided.

Such casings and drawers may be economically constructed of fibrous sheet material, the casing being reinforced and strengthened, particularly at the open front, by means such as that provided in my Patent No. 2,118,011, issued May 17, 1938, and may be strengthened in the rear, if necessary, by the inset back construction set forth in my Patent No. 2,159,070, issued May 23, 1939, the drawer being formed substantially as described in my Patent No. 1,946,516.

When the casing and drawer combination is used as a transfer file for storage of records and papers or for any other purpose involving the loading of the drawer with relatively heavy material, the movement of the drawer may be impeded by the friction developed between the bottom of the drawer and the floor of the casing. Accordingly, in my Patent Nos. 2,233,906 and 2,200,319, as well as in other patents herein set forth, I have provided for various types of friction, reducing means and mechanisms between the casing floor and the drawer bottom. Likewise, in my Patent No. 2,319,283, issued May 18, 1943, I have provided for additional and improved friction reducing means.

Where, by the use of efiicient anti-friction means, the movement of the drawer isfacilitated to the extent that only a minimum of effort is required to operate it, it becomes necessary to provide means such as drawer-stop to prevent undesired or intended removal of the drawer from the outer casing. Such drawer-stop should, where possible, reinforce both the drawer and the casing, facilitate the operation of the drawer, and even serve to suspend the drawer when it is so far withdrawn that its center of gravity is outside the casing; and it should not interfere with the collapsibility of casing and drawer where that is afactor. Such drawer stop may be provided in connection with a reinforcing member as shown in my Patent No. 2,210,019, or may be independent thereof.

. Objects of this invention, therefore, are to provide in a casing and drawer combination adrawer stop which, may, if desired, cooperate with any anti-friction means which may be used (and par ticularly the; antirfrictionz means. set forth in my.

Patent No. 2,319,283, issued May 18, 1943, in order to align the drawer with said anti-friction means; a drawer stop which will permit withrawal of the drawer and yet serve as a stop for the drawer when withdrawal thereof is not desired; that will not interfere with collapsibility of drawer and casing; and that may even serve to suspend the drawer when it is partially removed from the casing.

Other objects and uses of my invention will, in part, be apparent and in part indicated in the following description and drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a casing and drawer showing a form of drawer stop which features my present invention.

Figures 2 and 3 are details of the drawer stop of Figure 1. V

The drawer of Figure 1 may have a roller 4-01 mounted on the back wall in such manner that it will just clear the inner surface of the top wall of the casing when the drawer is insertedtherein.

Many methods may be used for mounting such roller on the drawer. I prefer, however, to use a drawer blank the rear construction of which will be like that of the blank, Figure 26 in my Patent No. 2,319,283, issued May 18, 1943. The back wall 300 in such blank of Figure 26 of that patent consists of a panel 402, separated by a bend line 133 from the bottom wall I31; the panel 402 is in turn separated by a double score line 484 from the inner panel 105. The panels 402 and 405 are cut out at 408. Panel 405 may then be turned on the double score line 404 to lie in face to face relation against the panel 402. An additional panel 401 may be adhesively or otherwise mounted so that it will lie between the panels 405 and 402 when they are folded'together. The edges 508, 309 of the panel 40'! may then serve as a support for a wire- N0 (of; Fig; 43), said wire carrying the roller i'lll which projects above the slot 406. The back wall assembly' may be secured together in the manufacturing process, such back wall assembly for "mounting the roller not interfering with the casing mouth, the drawer then tending tosag down at its forward end. Andsuch roller may also cooperate with-any stopping means provided in the top wall of the casing and thereby act as a drawer stop. Such roller may also serve as a handle for the rear wall of the drawer to facilitate lifting the drawer when it is entirely removed from the casing.

In Figure 1, I have illustrated one type of stopping mechanism for the casing adapted to cooperate with such roller 4! or any other raised portion or extension of the rear wall of the drawer or even the rear wall of the drawer itself to create a drawer stop. A U-shaped wire 4 is mounted in a plate M2 mounted in the top wall 413 of the casing 49. Such U-shaped wire remains normally in the lowered or hanging position as illustrated in the figure. It is so arranged that it cannot swing forward toward the open mouth of the casing, and thus, when engaged by the roller, will not permit unintended movement of the drawer out of the casing. But when it is desired to permit the roller 4! to pass beyond the wire 4 so that the drawer may be pulled out, the wire 4! I may be swung backward toward the rear of the casing and thus raised.

As seen in the detail view of Figure 2, the plate 412 may comprise a flat member 4M having two risers 415, M6, the riser 4H5 having perforations 4", 418 associated with recesses M9, 429 within which the ends MI, 422 of the U wire 4 may be inserted so that they will not project beyond the plane of the riser 416 or the plane of the flat member M4. As will be clear from the figure, the U shaped wire may be freely swung away from the riser 4 [6, but cannot swing any further toward such riser and is effectively stopped thereby. The plate 4l2 may be inserted in a gap 425 (Figure 1) in the roof 4l3 of the casing 48 so that the flanges 423 and 424 extend beyond the edges of such gap to prevent the lifting of such plate away from the casing. The U wire 41! will then hang down into the interior of the casing to serve as a drawer stop in cooperation with the roller 40!. A batten 42B (Figures 2 and 3) may then be inserted beneath the flat member 4! so that the ends of the batten rest against the outer surface of the top wall of the casing and prevent the plate 2 from falling into the casing and will lock the drawer stop in place. The stud 421 on the batten 426 cooperates with the perforation 428 of the flat member 414 to prevent accidental removal of the batten where casings are to be placed one on top of the other, the batten 426 may be fiat so that the flat member 4 will be very nearly flush with the top of the casing. A

channel member 429 may be mounted over the forward edge of the gap 425 to reinforce such forward edge against any undue pressure or strain when the roller 411i is pulled against the drawer stop 4| I.

The construction herein shown will operate in a rigid or collapsible container without interfering with the collapse of the container, casing or drawer. The rotation of the wire toward the rear will raise the wire to lie fiat against its wall to permit collapse.

Further, the fact that the wire 4 is rotatable in one direction to lie flush with the wall but will resist rotation in the opposite direction will suggest many other uses for such wire in collapsible structures. Thus, such constructions may be used as of hanging or suspending means in the ceiling of collapsible cabinets or even in the side walls thereof.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that my invention resides in certain principles of construction which may be embodied in other physical forms without departure therefrom. I do not, therefore, desire to be strictly limited to the disclosure as given for purposes of illustration but rather to the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a collapsible cabinet comprising a collapsible casing section of substantially fibrous material having a top wall and an open front and a collapsible drawer section of substantially fibrous material having side walls and an open top and a rear wall; means on said top wall of said casing section and means on said rear wall of said drawer section cooperating with each other to prevent unintended removal of the drawer section from said casing section; said means on said rear wall of said drawer section comprising a roller adapted to ride against the top Wall of the casing section; said means on the top wall of the casing section comprising an abutment engaging said roller and preventing unintended removal of the drawer; said abutment comprising a support in the top of the casing section, a pendant rotatable wire having a portion in the path of movement of said roller, means on the support cooperating with the wire for limiting rotation of the wire toward the front of the casing section, said wire being rotatable toward the rear of said casing section to be raised out of position to engage with said roller; said support being carried by the top wall of the casing and comprising a channel shaped member having a main channel section defined by a pair of arallel legs and a bridging member connecting them; flanges secured to and extending from the said legs; recesses at the connection between one of said legs and said bridging element; extensions on said rotatable wire engaged in said recesses for supporting said wire.

2. In a collapsible cabinet comprising a collapsible casing section of substantially fibrous material having a top wall and an open front and a collapsible drawer section of substantially fibrous material having side walls and an open top and a rear wall; means on said top wall of said casing section and means on said rear wall of said drawer section cooperating with each other to prevent unintended removal of the drawer section from said casing section; said means on said rear wall of said drawer section comprising a roller adapted to ride against the top wall of the casing section; said means on the top wall of the casing section comprising an abutment engaging said roller and preventing unintended removal of the drawer; said abutment comprising a pendant rotatable wire, a support for said wire in the top of the casing section said wire having a bent portion in the path of movement of said roller and other portions rotatably secured to said support, the motion of said wire toward the front of said casing section being limited, said wire being rotatable toward the rear of said casing'section to be raised out of position to engage with said roller; a support for said wire, said support being carried by the top wall of the easing and comprising a channel shaped member having a main channel section defined by a pair of parallel legs and a bridging member connecting them; flanges secured to and extending from the said legs; recesses at the connection between one of said legs and said bridging element; extensions on said rotatable wire engaged in said recesse for supporting said wire; said last mentioned leg also providing a stop for said wire limiting the rotation of the wire toward the front v of the casing section.

3. In a collapsible cabinet comprising a collapsible casing section of substantially fibrous material having a top wall and'an open front and a collapsible drawer section of substantially fibrous material having side walls and an open top and a rear wall; means on said top wall of said casing section and means on said rear wall of said drawer section cooperating with each other to prevent unintended removal of the drawer section from said casing section; said means on said rear wall of said drawer section comprising a roller adapted to ride against the 

